How to Evict a Tenant Quickly in CA

When dealing with rental houses, there are lots of potential issues that can arise. Evicting a tenant can be added stress to a landlord’s life.

Here’s how to evict a tenant in CA.

Please understand that when you have to evict a tenant anywhere can come with a lot of hard work on your part as the landlord.

When dealing with rental houses, there are lots of potential issues that can arise. Things like tax implications, and evictions are common. Evicting a tenant can add stress to a landlord’s life.

It also will require you to understand the laws concerning evictions and tenants rights. Those that are new to rental property often have a tendency of forming a tenant friendship. When it comes time to learn how to kick a tenant out, it becomes a very stressful situation…especially if the tenants are relatives. Yikes!

evict a tenant from a house

How to Evict a Tenant Quickly in CA

Having to deal with evicting a tenant can often be avoided. This can be done through the proper pre-screening and choosing of tenants to begin with.

However, no matter how careful someone may be, circumstances can change. There can be a variety of reasons of why you may have to learn how to evict tenants.

What has to be realized is that your rental property is a business to you and you will have to conduct it as such. This means that you will have to know how to evict tenants when and if the situation arises.

How To Evict A Tenant Not Paying Rent

Often a landlord has to go through the eviction process because the tenant is not paying their rent.

Evicting a tenant not paying rent is not something that you should wait to learn about. If you do find yourself in that situation, you might consider selling the rental property with tenants still there.

As a landlord, you really want to learn what the rules are that pertain to the landlord and tenant act. You also want to learn the eviction laws. Knowing these makes it much easier when you have to kick a tenant out. These should be learned when first drawing up the lease agreement.

house to evict a tenant

Eviction Laws

The eviction laws will differ from state to state.

Even if you are familiar with one state make sure that you know the laws for the state you are renting your house in. How to evict a tenant in CA will most likely be different than other states.

When it comes to evictions, it’s best not to do it on your own. It can become so frustrating that landlords start removing items from the tenant’s home. Or change the locks. Or they may shut off the critical essentials like the electric, gas and water. These may be all measures that would possibly get your tenant to vacate…but can be illegal.

You need to go through the proper legal recourse that is in place for you to evict your tenant.

When it comes time to go to court you want to show the courts that you have abided by all of the rules. You  should not have been vindictive in any way. This could cause the judge to show more leniency towards the tenants.

One of the reasons for trying to figure out how to evict a tenant in CA is because of failure to pay rent…obviously, if they don’t pay they shouldn’t stay.

Other Reasons to Evict a Tenant

They may have violated the lease agreement or they are causing damage to your property.

It could also be that they are a hindrance to your other tenants. This could be by causing noise disturbances or health issues.

evict a tenant rental property

Whatever the reason may be you have to ensure that you have the proof and that it is well documented. It could be you happened to learn that you are in a gray area of the law when it comes to how you approach your eviction of a tenant.

You may want to try and approach your tenant asking them to leave in a polite way. This may be done  without having to go through the entire legal process. In many cases this doesn’t usually work and you will need to learn how to start the eviction process.

How To Start The Eviction Process

Evicting a tenant in CA requires you to start the eviction process.

The first thing you’re going to want to do is give a formal notice of eviction. This is after you have definitely determined that you have the grounds for eviction.

In many cases the notice of eviction has to include the reasons why the tenant is being evicted. It should include what they could possibly do to avoid this. It may be that the property has been unkempt. If they comply and clean it up then the eviction will no longer be in place.

You also want to make sure the eviction notice includes the deadline. It should also contain any amounts of money including all fees that are owed. There may be a specific number of days that you have for filing this paperwork with your local court office. The eviction notice should be taped to the tenant’s front door as well as sent by certified mail.

learning how to evict a tenant

In most cases you will need to file your eviction with the courthouse. Then you should be given a hearing scheduled date. The courts should also notify the tenants by way of  summons about this. You will most likely have to show that you have served the eviction notice in the proper manner.

Evict a tenant in CA means preparing yourself for your court attendance. Make sure that you have all of the pertinent documentation for the rental property for this tenant. This includes your lease agreements and all your records of payment. Any communication that you may have had with the tenant should be documented. You need  a copy of written notice and your proof that the notice was served. If you have checks that have been classed as NSF these also should be part of your documentation.

There will be a specific time allotted that the tenant will have to leave. If the tenant doesn’t comply then the Sheriff’s department can step in. This is to ensure that the court orders have been carried out. Tenant eviction is not a pleasant or easy task but is one of the responsibilities that come with this type of business. Knowing all the rules and regulations makes it a much easier process.

 

Skip the Headaches of Evicting a Tenant, Sell the House Fast Instead

Why go through all that’s required to evict tenants? You can skip the drama and headaches by selling your rental property and getting a cash offer from a company that buys houses in Madera. JRod Properties can make you a cash offer within a single day…even if there are tenants living in the house. Give us a call at (559)481-1025 and we’ll gladly talk with you about your situation and make you an offer to buy it at no charge.

 

The information presented in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or as any other type of advice.

Taxes for Selling Rental Property in CA

The taxes for selling rental property in CA can be incredibly confusing for plenty of reasons, but don’t worry – I’m here to help you out.

Understanding the taxes for selling rental property is an essential step to know when you’re thinking about selling a rental house. Selling a rental property comes with many steps, questions like “should I sell my rental property?”, and complications which may also involve tax implications. The taxes for selling rental property in CA can be incredibly confusing for plenty of reasons, but don’t worry – I’m here to help you out. In this article, we’re going to look at taxes on selling rental property in CA, how tax sales work, how to avoid paying capital gains, capital gains tax on sale of rental property, capital gains tax on sale of your second home and more.

Let’s go.

How taxes for selling rental property in CA work?

If you’re completely new to the real estate business and taxes on selling rental property in CA, you might be asking yourself how taxes work in the first place.

Calculator, paperwork and pen. Taxes For Selling Rental Property in CA

Here’s how:

HowStuffWorks states that each property is divided into assessment areas or assessment units.
The value of a property is determined by a tax assessor through property tax assessment.

“For example, the Rose City government has a $6 million budget and receives $3.5 million in sales tax revenue and state aid. Rose City needs to raise $2.5 million in property taxes to cover the budget. $6,000,000 – $3,500,000 = $2,500,000”

Some of the property cost can be recovered with depreciation.

What is depreciation?

10 and 20 euro bank notes and coins. Taxes For Selling Rental Property in CA

Depreciation is a tax deduction which allows you to recover costs of a particular property.

Residential rental properties can be depreciated over 27 ½ years with MARCS system or 40 years with an alternative system.

You cannot claim depreciation.

What happens if property taxes for selling rental property aren’t paid?

If your property taxes aren’t paid, you could face a fine and have your property seized. Not paying your taxes could also reflect badly on your credit score, making it difficult to purchase further properties. Please consult with the IRS Publication 594.

How to avoid paying capital gains?

Forbes identifies 14 ways to avoid paying capital gains when it comes to taxes for selling rental property in CA. I’ll cover 5 most important ones.

Stock exchange
Those with a good credit and appreciated securities can apply for a stock exchange with services who trade their stock with a diversified portfolio (however, equally valued). Who uses this option? Investors who are looking to avoid paying large capital gains on taxes for selling rental property in CA.

Health Savings Accounts
Contributing to health savings accounts will also mean you are able to receive a tax deduction. Please note that you might have to do more paperwork and no economic value can be gained from this.

Move to a lower tax bracket state
State taxes are different and depending on where you live, you can avoid paying state tax or lower it.

Give stocks to family members
You can give some of your stocks to family members in lower tax brackets. This is one of the most beneficiary ways to avoid paying capital gains.

1031 exchange
What is 1031 exchange? It’s another way to avoid paying capital gains – within 180 days of the sale you can roll your proceeds into a similar investment type. Please note that the rules to this exchange are very complex, however, by doing the 1031 exchange you can without a doubt avoid paying capital gains.

Coins.Taxes For Selling Rental Property in CA

How to make capital gain or capital loss when you sell?

Capital gains or capital losses are made everytime you sell a rental property, unless the property was bought before 20th September 1985. These gains or losses can also be made from capital improvements since the acquired date .

The amount of your capital gain depends on the capital gain tax rate and as a result, according to Forbes, many gains are, in fact, never taxed.

If you co-own a property, capital gains or losses are made according to your property interest.

Capital gains or losses can be dismissed in the case of a rollover.

What is a rollover?

Rollover (disregarding a capital gain) applies in the case of a destroyed property or property which was transferred to a former spouse.

I need to sell my second house – what are capital gains tax on sale of second home?

The capital gains on sale of second home depend on the state you live in and how long you’ve lived in the house. Qualifications for partial exclusions are favorable, especially in the cases where you have rented your property for a certain amount of time while treated it as a residence prior to that.

The duration of the time you have to live in your second home and then rent it out depends on your state – for more information, contact your lawyer to make sure you receive correct information.

Sell Your House to a Cash House Buying Company

Ready to sell your house FAST?

JRod Properties is a cash buying company, ready to take your property off your hands. The property you want to sell needs repairs? Doesn’t matter – we’ll be happy to sell it regardless of its state. Give me a call and you will receive a cash offer in just 24 hours. Your house can be sold in a week!

If you need to sell your rental house now, and would like to get a no-obligation cash offer, call us now at (559)481-1025. Whether you decide to sell your house to us or not, we would like to help answer questions you might have about the process.
 

The information presented in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or as any other type of advice.

Tax Implications When Selling Rental Property in CA

The first thing you are going to want to become familiar with is the tax implications when selling rental property. This is going to involve capital gains or capital losses.

Considering a Sale of Investment Property?

There can be plenty of reasons for wanting to. If you do, you need to be aware of the tax implications when selling rental property. There’s a lot to know…so let’s get started.

The sale of investment property requires considering the tax implications when selling rental property.  Make sure before making the final decision to sell your rental property that this is what you want to do. Dealing with the tax matters can be complicated and expensive.

tax implications when selling rental property

Tax Rules When Selling Rental Property

The first thing you are going to want to become familiar with is the tax implications when selling rental property. This is going to involve capital gains or capital losses. The tax implications involve this area of the tax laws.

Taxes on selling rental property are going to include taxes at both the Federal and State level.

The difference between the sale price and the adjusted tax basis determines capital gains.

A rental property tax calculator can help determine this.

Capital gains can pertain to either short term or long term gains. This helps to determine what your selling rental property tax obligations will be.

Sometimes individuals purchase rental property and discover it’s not for them. Then they want to sell it within the year. This is considered short term so if sold at a profit then it would be taxed as short-term capital gains. Usually, this is taxed at the standard income tax rate.

Property held for longer than one year is subjected to a different tax rate. This is a long-term capital gain. The rate can range between 0% to 20% but most often falls within the 15% range. Again you can use a selling rental property tax calculator, to help you estimate the tax implications when selling rental property.

Selling rental property tax expenses determines the basis of the rental property. This usually is the amount that you paid for the property.

Plus, additional expenses that you incurred to make the sale. If events occurred that decreased  value then you can likewise decrease the basis amount. At the same time if you improved the property then you can add the value of these improvements to the basis.

There are some advantages to an increased basis as it can help to reduce the amount of taxes you will need to pay. At the same time, you can enjoy an increased tax deduction with a capital loss.

Possible Tax Deductions When Selling Rental Property

Pay close attention to rental property tax deductions when you are going to sell. You will still have your regular tax deductions for this property up until the time that you sell it.

It may be that when you are selling the property you are not going to realize a profit. This is going to put you into a capital loss situation.

You will be limited as to the amount you can deduct for this loss. You will be able to carry the loss forward for a specific number of years. Just as there are short term and long term capital gains the same applies for capital losses.

comfortable living room with sofas

Owning the property for less than one year constitutes a short term loss. Whereas longer than one year is a long term loss. You will need to look at the current year’s allowable deduction limit for the capital loss.

You may also be able to qualify for passive losses. These could be included with your selling rental property tax deductions.

These losses occur when your property losses in a given year exceed the rental income. There is a cap on as to how much you can claim each year, but these losses may be able to be carried forward. When you sell the property you can apply any of these unused losses that occurred during the sale year.

One advantage you may want to take advantage of is selling your investment property and buying another.

It would have to be in the same category as an investment property. This applies to the 1031 tax rule. It can be complicated so you would want to rely on professional advice regarding this.

Some individuals sell their investment property so they can pay down their primary residence mortgage. This can create some substantial tax liabilities.

Tax Implications When Selling Rental Property

Researching your tax obligations when selling your rental property involves becoming aware of the law. This includes knowing the tax consequences that effect tax implications when selling rental property.

wood house with a green bike

Property depreciates and the IRS realizes this so they have rules in place. This pertains to how the calculations are handled for your depreciation deduction. Basically, the rules are that depreciation applies over a 27.5 year period. So each year a portion of this can be used as a deduction against the profit you are making. It works out to  3.636% per year. Improvements have to be calculated into the depreciation formula.  Looking at rental property tax legalities when selling may mean other things to consider.

If you have been claiming depreciation you may be subjected to depreciation recapture tax.

Another area that includes potential tax consequences of selling a rental property is incurring the new Net Investment Income Tax. If this applies to you then you may have to pay an additional 3.8% on your net investment income. This is applicable to specific thresholds and deals with capital gains.

Being as this is not your principal residence you are not eligible for the capital gain exclusion. Which usually amounts to  $250,000/$500,000.

Selling Rental Property Taxes Implications Summary

rental apartments

You must be familiar with the various tax laws during the sale of investment property. This is so you don’t make any mistakes when determining what your profit will be after taxes.

You will most probably want to use the services of an accountant to assist you with this. Although you can use the selling rental property tax calculator. This will give you a good idea as to what your selling rental property tax figures will be. If you are really familiar with the tax laws and tax implications when selling rental property, you can use tax accounting software to help you file your taxes pertaining to your rental property sale.

 

Ready to Sell?

If you’re interested in selling your rental property give us a call at (559)481-1025. We buy houses in Madera and pay cash so that you can sell your house fast. Give us a call!
 

The information presented in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or as any other type of advice.

Selling Rental Property in Madera, CA

Selling rental property in today’s market can be complicated. Knowing when to sell your property is just one of many questions you might have.

Selling rental property in today’s market can be complicated. Knowing when to sell your rental property is just one of many questions you might have. Even though asking prices are breaking record highs, selling your home is a daunting task for most homeowners.

Listing, updating, and advertising your home costs both time and money, and hiring realtors can slow your move-out time exponentially. But what about the added pains to selling an income property? Believe it or not, selling rental property in Madera, CA doesn’t have to be a months-long nightmare.

selling rental property

Selling Rental Property: The Right Time

Like most ventures, selling rental property in Madera, CA is all about timing.

Determining the right time to sell your rental property means considering a multitude of factors. Selling a Madera house is not only more complicated than purchasing, it also requires more risk. According to some experienced in home-selling, “choosing the right time to sell a rental property may be more crucial to your success… then your initial decision to purchase it.” With that in mind, consider these factors when selling rental property in Madera, CA.

Before selling, evaluate the current state of your rental. Rental properties are notorious for being hard to manage, even with an attentive and well-meaning landlord. Whether it’s a lack of cooperative tenants or the inability to foresee the emergence of major repairs, a rental property can fall into a state of disrepair fast. Needing major repairs without having access to the home or funds set aside for them can create a massive financial loss that’s unappealing to most rental property owners. It may be time to sell.

office table with white chair and wooden floors. Selling Rental Property in Madera,CA

Does your property generate a negative cash flow? Does it cost more to own and maintain than the income it produces? Even rental properties with the highest rent in the best neighborhood can be too costly to keep.

Owning the ideal rental property in Madera, CA means paying for property upkeep, taxes, utilities, insurance, among other monthly expenses. Your renters are paying for residence in the best area, but you’re paying more for maintenance and management. After expenses, is the bottom number adequate, or can you yield more revenue in other investment opportunities?

Like most markets, the renter’s market is fickle. A good year for rental property owners can mean increased appreciation and profit. But a market downturn can hemorrhage your savings. A once profitable piece of property can become an anxiety-inducing nightmare. Consider your long and short-term goals. If you envision your investment as more of a financial liability than a guarantee, it’s time to consider selling a rental property in Madera, CA.

Selling with a Tenant

So you’ve decided to cut your losses and sell your rental property. Now, what? If you have current tenants, you might be wondering about the complications concerning selling your rental property with tenants.

Rooftops selling rental property

Even if your tenant is one of those rare, dream tenants – they’re tidy, never call after hours, and care for your property like it’s their own – selling your rental with a pre-existing tenant is more of a hassle than selling an empty home. “If you want to sell your house with a tenant for the highest and best price, even the best tenant can be a detriment,” warns realtor Bill Petrey. This is partly due to a tenant’s lack of incentive to keep the property in showroom condition to impress and woo home buyers.

Having a tenant is also a deterrent for many potential buyers. Like it or not, when you’re selling rental property with tenants you’re selling rental property with tenants lease. You reduce the pool of potential buyers. Some home buyers can wait until a tenant’s lease is expired to move, and will buy your property without worry. But most want homes that are move-in ready the day of closing. Unless you’re trying to attract landlord buyers and other investors, selling a home with a pre-existing tenant can be limiting.

But there’s an upside to selling rental property with tenants. You can combat the negatives by enlisting your tenant’s help with showing your property to potential buyers!

By communicating with your tenant, you gain the possibility of making them more amenable to showing your home, an inconvenience no one likes during the selling process.

Some rental property owners even offer tenants a reward for keeping the home in peak condition. These rewards can include lowering their monthly rent or giving them gift cards to spend the day of a showing. “The success of dealing with a tenant during a sale is less about the message itself, but in how the message is delivered,” explains Zillow’s Brendon Desimone.

Selling tenant-occupied property can be tricky, but it’s certainly not impossible. While some buyers avoid tenants, others flock to the chance at owning a rental property that produces consistent  income day of sale. If you can offer your tenant an incentive for the inconvenience of showing your property and helping with the upkeep, you’ll generate more potential buyers. More buyers mean more bidding, and more bidding means procuring top dollar when selling a rental property in Madera, CA.

selling rental property old house

Selling at a Loss

When selling a rental property, it’s smart to consider the taxes imposed on your capital investment. It might be the least of your worries, but you must pay tax on any profit you earn while investing. It’s your selling rental property taxes.

If you’re selling while the market is favorable, your overall equity has increased, or you’ve lacked any major vacancies since renting your property, expect to pay a capital gains tax. The tax signifies your rental property’s ability to earn a positive cash flow and is considered a positive consequence of selling.

But what about selling rental property at a loss? Although very few investors buy property to lose money, it happens quite often. It’s one of the major risks of real estate. It can happen for any number of reasons, including a property-specific problem or the market losing equity.

Selling at a loss means the property drops in value causing you to lose money when selling. No one wants to sell at a loss, but sometimes it’s inevitable. It doesn’t have to be a negative consequence of selling, though.

According to Turbo Tax, “losses from selling rental properties generally receive favorable tax treatment.” If you owned your property more than a year, you can file for a Section 1231 loss. This specific loss can be used to reduce any type of positive income you’ve accrued. If your Section 1231 loss is large enough and it reduces all other income below zero, you obtain a Net Operating Loss (NOL). While taking a huge financial loss is generally considered bad, it can be a blessing for tax purposes. An NOL can be carried back for at least two years, offsetting taxable income and allowing you to regain the taxes you paid those previous years. An NOL can also be applied to future tax years and counter net gains for up to twenty years!

apartment building selling rental property

Selling rental property at a loss is a short-term loss, but it offers long term gain. If you purchased your rental property with a mortgage, you’re able to pay off your mortgage with a short-sale, even with an overall loss. If you own the property outright, you can take the loss but garner great tax benefits that last well after your close. Selling rental property at a loss isn’t only a viable solution to selling your investment, but can be a strong business plan to invest in future properties.

Selling rental property in Madera, CA doesn’t have to be stressful when considering all the factors before closing. Is it the right time to sell? Do you need to sell with tenants? What are the tax benefits to selling? If you can answer these questions with assurance, selling your rental can be an easy decision with multiple benefits.

Get a Cash Offer For Your Rental Property

Interested in a faster option? JRod Properties can make you a no-obligation cash offer within 24 hours to buy your rental property in Madera, CA.

If you want to find out more, do not hesitate to call us directly at (559)481-1025. We looking forward to talking with you.
 

The information presented in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or as any other type of advice.

Should I Sell My Rental Property in Madera, CA?

There can be several reasons why this question is asked. Let’s look at the pros and cons of selling…

At some point in time you may end up asking yourself should I sell my rental property in Madera, CA?

There can be several reasons why this question is being raised. When it does arise you are going to find that it leads to many other questions. This now means giving some serious thought to the answers so that you can move forward confident that you’ve made an educated decision.

sell my rental property

Should I Keep Or Sell My Rental Property?

Let’s look at the pros and cons to selling your rental property.

 

The Benefits of Keeping the Rental Property:

You are probably aware of the benefits of having rental property.

Otherwise, you would not have entered into this type of real estate adventure. The question is are you still reaping those benefits? Or are the benefits just not worth the time and work involved?

The benefits can consist of…

  •  Extra income from the rent collected that can be put to good use.
  •  You have a property that will build in equity.
  •  It can be alternative to selling if you have a personal interest in the property.
  •  It provides additional security by way of additional income.

red door with bushes and wreath. sell my rental property?

Then at the same time you are asking should whether you should keep or sell your rental property that has tenants you have to look at the downside of being a landlord.

  • Having to deal with tenants.
  • Dealing with legal issues.
  • Having to maintain and upkeep the property.
  • The time and effort.
  • Potential tax consequences of selling a rental property.

If you’re thinking of selling, you’ll probably want to consider selling your Madera house fast.

Should I sell My Rental Property Now?

If after coming to the decision that yes you are ready to sell your property  you will need to ask yourself, when should I sell my rental property? It may be because you are contemplating this that selling it now may be an option.

This is going to depend on a lot of factors which includes your reasons for deciding to sell.

garage door to sell rental property in Madera

Should I sell My Property to Pay off Debt?

Should you sell your rental property in Madera to deal with a heavy debt load? Great question!

Now you are faced with a more specific question like should I sell my rental property to pay off debt?

To find the right answer to this question you are really going to have to do some financial figuring.

You need to look at all the costs of the rental property and what is the profit from the rental unit.

Then you need to look at the cost of your interest rates on your debt and see what you would be saving if these were cleared. There are other factors that you need to take into account as well… like the long term value of the rental property over time.

Should I Sell My Rental Property at a Loss?

You might have a solid reason to sell your rental property even at a loss.

Then you may have to ask yourself, “should I sell my rental property at a loss?”

This can be really disturbing as nobody likes to lose money. The one advantage may be for tax purposes where a loss can be realized.

Depending on the real estate market at the time you may not have a choice if you need to sell the property quickly.

a house with a window and three flower pots. should i sell my rental property?

Can I Sell My Rental Property with Tenants in it?

Can you sell a rental property with tenants in it?

There are pros and cons to selling your rental property when the tenants still live there.

With tenants in place you are showing the property is generating an income. It saves a potential new buyer from having to find tenants. The downside is dealing with the tenants during the sale process.

Some tenants will cooperate where others won’t. When the property is on the market it means that the realtor is going to have to show it. Tenants may find this an inconvenient and will try and make it difficult for showings. Or, they may not tend to the property properly and it won’t show at its best. To answer this question you are going to have to really know how your tenants are going to react to the sale. You can also discuss the pros and cons with your Realtor who is experienced in this.

To find out more about selling a rental property with tenants please read this article.

It really just boils down to what makes the most sense for your circumstances

You can do this by looking at your personal circumstances. Make sure that when making your decisions to think about the long term of your actions.

You may be in a temporary financial circumstance that needs addressing. Selling the property could maybe help with this. However, would doing this put you at a bigger disadvantage later on down the road?

Be sure to rely on the right professionals when you decide to sell your rental property. These are experts like a Realtor or a cash Madera home buyer.

They can help answer the questions you are faced with. Their advice can help you take the right steps in regards to a sale. Also, if you are feeling frustrated over your rental property this may be temporary and you don’t want to make a hasty decision because you may be having a bad day.

Then there are times when the housing market is really booming and you may decide this is the best time to sell. Consider the reasons why you entered into rental property and see if this has changed.

 

Get a No-Obligation Cash Offer

If you want to see what this option can do for you, feel free to call JRod Properties at (559)481-1025 right now. There is no-obligation so it won’t cost you anything and you can consider the offer to buy your rental property as something to consider.

Thanks for reading and I hope this article helped you to understand your options better.
 

The information presented in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or as any other type of advice.

Sell A House Fast in Madera: 5 Tips For Success

Have plans and need to sell a house fast in Madera? Here are 5 proven tips that are sure to help you sell your house quickly. No. 2 might surprise you.

5 tips to sell a house fast

Considering selling your house and want to do it as quickly as possible? Of course! Most people want that. We buy and sell houses all the time and have some proven tips on how to sell a house fast in Madera… or any other town or city.

We use these tips every time we sell a house we’ve fixed up. Most were learned when the real estate market tanked back around 2008.

With foreclosures up 81% back then, there were a lot of houses on the market clamoring for the attention of the reduced amount of buyers looking to buy a home.

We were forced to find ways to compete and get houses sold. In this article we are passing those hard-earned lessons on to you so that you can better be able to sell your house fast in Madera or anywhere.

sell a house fast

Selling a House Fast Requires the Right Price

We quickly noticed that the single biggest factor in getting a house to sell fast in any market is the price.

Yes, how much you are asking for your home plays a huge role in being able to get offers right out of the gate.

Consider this from the point of view of buyers looking to buy a house in your neighborhood or area. They are likely going through dozens or even hundreds of listings that are most likely sorted by price.

Everybody wants a bargain. They are judging your house and its price against what your neighbors are asking for a similar house.

Pricing a house is not the easiest thing to do in the world so we wanted to provide some quick tips to help you determine a great price:

  • Check comps

    Find out what other similar houses are selling for and how fast they are selling. Take the closest matches that sold quickly and average the selling prices.

  • How does your home compare?

    If you are working with an agent, you can have them show you pictures of the houses that sold. If you aren’t working with an agent, many times you can see pictures of houses that sold on Zillow.com or Realtor.com. Compare the fixtures and finishes to what you have in your house and adjust your price up or down based on what you find. Always be considering this from the buyers’ perspective. What would you think when you saw the houses that sold and then came and saw your house? It’s very important to be objective here.

  • Have friends give their opinions

    Sometimes we as homeowners are seeing things through a different lens. We need to get unbiased opinions from friends or family that are completely objective.

For more great tips on pricing your house for sale, check out this article on Zillow.

cash offer from a house buying company

Get an Offer from a Cash Home Buyer

Not everybody is aware there are people who buy houses cash that will make you an offer to buy your house quickly.

You might wonder,”why do they buy a lot of houses?” They buy for investment purposes and usually have the cash to close faster. This allows you to sell your house without even putting it on the market.

What’s the catch with these house buying companies? They usually don’t pay full market value. That might be an issue if you need to sell for top dollar.

Of course, this option doesn’t make sense for all home sellers. It makes the most sense for people that don’t have the time or energy to deal with getting their house fixed up and put on the market. This is also a good solution for sellers that don’t like the idea of having dozens of complete strangers going through their house, looking at all of their stuff.

We buy homes in Madera and would love to talk with you about what we can pay for your house.

market your house for sale everywhere

Market Your House Everywhere

The quickest way to sell a house you put up for sale is to get as many eyes on it as possible. You need to make sure everybody knows the home is for sale.

Get an ad in the local newspaper

If you want to sell a house fast in Madera, you might consider putting an ad in the local newspaper or their website.

Use a Listing Agent

Real estate agents can list your house on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) which will help you get maximum exposure.

If you decide to sell your house without an agent, you can get a ‘For Sale By Owner’ sign from HomeDepot or Lowe’s and stick it in your front yard. I highly recommend you get the directional signs as well. This will allow you to point people driving around your area to your house that is for sale.

Use Social Media

Take lots of pictures and do a video walk through. You can post these on Facebook and Youtube.

One social media platform is perfect for pictures: Instagram. Give it a try.

Tell everybody you know

Tell everybody you know that your house is for sale. Ask everybody you talk to if they know of anyone looking to buy a house in the area. You never know who might be looking for a house just like yours. This will certainly help you sell a house fast.

gives concessions to sell a house fast

Give Concessions to Sell Quickly

There are lots of ways to entice buyers to give your house a little extra attention.

Here are some of our favorite ways to sell a house fast by giving concessions:

Agent bonus

Reward agents for finding you a buyer. We’ve given bonuses of $1,000 or more for buyers’ agents that sold their buyers on our houses. You can do the same.

There are agents that look for listings of houses for sale where these bonuses are available and start showing their clients these houses first. Get yourself on the top of potential buyers’ must-see lists with this tip.

When buyers see your house first, they may just fall in love with it and make you an offer. Offering an agent bonus has allowed us to sell a lot of houses faster over the years.

Try it!

Closing cost assistance

Not all buyers need assistance with their closing costs…but most do!

If you offer to help pay closing costs for your buyers, they will much more likely to buy your house over others on the market.

In order to sell a house fast, you should consider offering this assistance. Be sure to write into the description of your listing your willingness to pay some closing cost assistance. It really goes a long way in persuading buyers to give your house more consideration.

Home warranty

This tip for selling a house fast is not mentioned often. Providing a home warranty gives buyers a peace of mind.

They might be nervous that they are overextending themselves when buying your house. They will likely feel better knowing that if something goes wrong, they have a warranty that will cover it.

American Home Shield offers a great home warranty that is pretty comprehensive. It’s great because it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg either. We’ve offered their warranty dozens, if not hundreds of times.

Offering a home warranty gives your home a competitive advantage that will allow you to sell your house quicker.

If you want to shop around and find the perfect home warranty, check out these reviews.

stand out when selling your house

Be Different

This piece of advice is one that I hope my competitors that sell houses don’t catch wind of. We make it a point to find economical ways of setting our houses apart so that they sell much faster.

The secret is spending some time to see what houses are for sale that your home will be competing with. Then, make note of the similarities between the houses.

  • Do they all have beige walls with white trim?
  • Do they all have formica counters?
  • Do they all have oak cabinets?
  • Do they all have brown exterior paint?

What you want to do now is find some things to do that will make your house stand out because it doesn’t just match all the others that are for sale.

You sell a house fast by making it unforgettable.

Great websites to get cheap design tips are Houzz.com and Pinterest.

Final Thoughts About How to Sell A House Fast in Madera

Whether you situation dictates you sell a house fast in Madera or somewhere else, you can follow these 5 tips we’ve outlined to pretty much guarantee a quick sale.

If you feel you’ve benefited from this article, please share it!

We’d love to hear any tips you might have for selling a house fast. If you have some tips, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments below.

The information presented in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or as any other type of advice.

We Buy Houses Scams In Madera and How To Avoid Them

Maybe you’ve seen those signs in Madera that say ‘we buy houses’ and thought, ‘are those we buy houses scams?’ It could be…here’s how to tell.

Have those advertisements for people saying, ‘we buy houses’ caught your eye and made you question whether they are we buy houses scams? This is a very real concern for people considering this kind of service.

we buy houses scams signs

Trying to sell your house fast in Madera? Are you concerned that you might get taken advantage of or have the wool pulled over your eyes?

Join the club.

The traditional way to sell a house is using a real estate agent and having them list your house.

Maybe you would rather skip the hassles and sell to a Madera cash home buyer instead. Every year, thousands of people sell their homes directly to investors rather than listing with an agent. In fact, nationwide, pending home sales jumped to 5.5% in February of 2017, according to Investor’s Business Daily.

If you’ve never sold a home before or never sold one without the services of agent, it can be quite scary. It can seem downright overwhelming.

I’m going to share some tips for you to make sure that who you are working with is a legitimate house buyer and not someone looking to scam you. By the end of this article, you’ll be armed with what you need to know to choose the right company to buy your house.

The Sniff Test For We Buy Houses Scams

There are a lot of legitimate house buyers in Madera, but there are also some people that are running we buy houses scams. It can be difficult to know which one you might be dealing with.

The stakes are high. People have lost lots of time, money and even their houses to scams run by investors that don’t have any sort of moral compass.

It can be difficult to determine if who you are dealing with has your best interests at heart. Most of the time there are “tells” that will clue you in to their true intentions. These signs can mean you are caught in some of the we buy houses scams being used today.

  1. Application Fees – If a house buyer wants you to pay them any kind of fees to evaluate your house, run away as fast you can. This person is likely a scammer. Honest home buying companies don’t make money charging application fees. They make their money from buying houses, fixing them up and either renting or selling the house.

  2. Kitchen Table Closings – If a buyer wants you to sign over the deed to your house anywhere other than a title company or attorney’s office, you’re likely going to be making a costly mistake. Any sale you have should happen at a title company so that you can make sure the paperwork is handled properly and all liens are taken care of.

    Please do not mistake this for signing a contract to sell your house. That can and probably will happen at your house. Just don’t sign any Warranty Deeds, Quitclaim Deeds without the services of a real estate attorney or title company.

  3. Too Much Information is Given – Phony bank statements and pre-approval letters for loans are given without being requested from untrustworthy real estate investors. These investors present these documents to make them appear legit but these documents can easily be faked.

    This occurs a lot when the supposed “investor” lives in a different city than Madera and communicates almost entirely by email. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather work with somebody local that I can meet face to face. Just because they are not local doesn’t immediately make them a scammer, but I sure would rather know who I’m dealing with.

Scammers Don’t Always Look and Act Like Used Car-Salesmen

used car-salesman

It’s not always easy to pick out who the scammer is in a crowd.

Sometimes it’s the overly nice gentleman.

Sometimes it’s the straight and to-the-point woman.

Don’t let your guard down just because someone smooth talks you. You need to get the facts about who they are and what they can do for you.

We will discuss exactly what to ask for to determine whether you are dealing with the right kind of house buyer or not later in this article.

It may seem impossible to determine whether someone is genuine or running we buy houses scams…but it’s not.

One way is to trust your gut. If something doesn’t seem right…it probably isn’t.

Another way is to determine whether their actions match their words. Actions always speak louder than words and I’ve found them to be very telling about people.

If a Madera home buyer says he or she is going to meet you at your house at 2:00 on Wednesday and they show up at 2:20…they might not be trust worthy. They certainly don’t value your time or respect it.

If they walk through your house and tear it apart with harsh words about the house or your situation, you are probably dealing with someone that could care less about your feelings or what you get out of the deal.

Harsh words about your house are solely intended to force you to lower your opinion of the value of the house. This type of investor may as well be wearing a plaid suit and lots of gold chains. They are worse than a used car salesman…

A respectable and reputable real estate investor will always treat you with respect. They will show up on time and show empathy. When viewing houses, trustworthy house buyers will look for the positive aspects of the house as they know full well they will be making repairs and breathing new life into the home.

Other Not-so-obvious Semi-Scams to Watch Out For

There are many other situations that I call ‘semi-scams’ to watch out for. These may not be illegal or full-blown we buy houses scams but are intended to take advantage of you and your situation.

It’s best to avoid these at all costs.

  • Sub2 or Subject To Scams – Some investors use a strategy called ‘Subject To’ or Sub2 when using shorthand. This is where they buy your house from you “subject to” the existing mortgage. They will want you to deed them the house without paying off your mortgage.

    The biggest problem with this is that the mortgage is in your name and, if it goes unpaid, directly impacts your credit!

    It’s pretty easy to see why this type of deal is important to avoid. You would basically be trusting an almost complete stranger with your credit. No thanks!

  • Short Sales Scams – Short sales are where a bank or mortgage company agrees to release their lien on your house in exchange for less than the principle balance of your loan. Typically, you have to pay off any principle balance and interest due for them to release the lien. When they agree to accept less, you are performing what is called a short sale.

    A short sale in and of itself is not a problem, it’s when this is attempted when it doesn’t make sense that causes a lot of problems for Madera homeowners.

    If you are behind on payments but have a lot of equity and a home that doesn’t need any major repairs, you might have an investor convince you to attempt a short sale.

    Short sales can drag on for months and the bank may wait until just before a foreclosure auction to deny it. Then what are you going to do? You won’t have time to sell it. It’s almost certain to be lost to foreclosure.

    Some careless investors don’t give you all the facts when they attempt a short sale on your house. You also need to be aware that even if the bank agrees to take less for the lien to be released, they could put a deficiency judgement on you for the amount the loan was shorted. You will probably also have to report the amount shorted as income which could cause your income tax owed to be a real problem for you.

How to Avoid These Potential Scams

Do your homework to avoid we buy houses scams.

With some quick research you can easily determine whether somebody has a history of doing what they say. You can also find out if they’ve been in business for a while which shows they are stable and worthy of your business.

Crooks rarely stay in business long and almost always have negative reviews.

reputations are everything

  • Check testimonials – Be sure to look for online reviews and testimonials for the house buying company you are considering. Any reputable business will have statements from previous customers that can attest to how they do business. You can read dozens of reviews from customers of JRod Properties here on our website. Take a look at them for an example of the types of things you will find for any honest business owner.

  • Check the Better Business Bureau – The Better Business Bureau (known as the BBB) allows consumers to leave reviews and rate local businesses. You should only work with house buying companies that have a strong rating with the Better Business Bureau.

    If a company is not rated with the BBB you can not have as much faith in their ability to do what they say.

  • Check how long the company has been in business – Great businesses have been around for a while. According to the Small Business Administration, nearly one third of all businesses fail within the first 2 years. If you find a business that’s been around for longer than 5 years, you can probably bet they are still around for a reason. They probably are doing something right.

  • Make sure to close at a title company – There is so much legal talk in contracts and deed documents that you simply must have a title company or real estate attorney handle the closing.

    This is to ensure that everything is done properly.

    The last thing you want is for something to be done incorrectly that you have to deal with years down the road.

    You could even run into a situation where you are sued because something wasn’t handled properly.

    Title companies provide title insurance that will protect you from most of these problems. It’s definitely worth it.

  • Don’t sign documents you don’t understand – This one seems to be common sense but is definitely not common practice. If you don’t understand something, don’t sign it.

    This is also where a good real estate attorney or title company can be worth their weight in gold. They should be able to break it down for you in layman’s terms so that you know what you are getting into.

    Great house buying companies will also take the time to clearly explain everything you are agreeing to in a way that makes sense to you. If you find you are working with someone not willing to do that, don’t work with them. Find someone else that buys houses.

Conclusion

When selling a house fast to a local house buying company, you should be aware of the signs of a potential we buy houses scam.

Armed with the knowledge from this article you are much better prepared to find a great house buyer for your house that will treat you with respect and do what they say they are going to do.

If you would like to get a fair cash offer for your Madera house, do not hesitate to give us a call at (559)481-1025. We would be glad to answer any questions you have and help you in any way we can.

The information presented in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or as any other type of advice.